GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Leofwine_draca Although Chinese historical war films are ten a penny these days, SAVING GENERAL YANG deserves plaudits for achieving what it sets out to achieve with grace and finesse. It's an exciting romp, a tale of survival packed with splendid action and a well-realised historical world.The story comes across as something like 300 meets DYNASTY WARRIORS; it tells of a popular Chinese legend about the titular character, who must hold off an invading horde with only the help of his seven sons. SAVING GENERAL YANG eschews big-name stars (the only well-known cast member here is musician Ekin Cheng, hidden among the ensemble group) in favour of a tight and compelling narrative that focuses on desperate action throughout.The choreography is well achieved, which comes as no surprise for a Chinese movie, and there are plenty of highlights and imaginative moments. The death scenes are heartfelt and moving. The movie does have lots of similarities to other flicks, particularly WAR OF THE ARROWS at the climax, but that doesn't stop it being from a nice action film in its own right with a pace that never lets up.

kosmasp I do have a soft spot for Eastern in general (no pun intended) and this was able to fill that. Now the story is simple (though I won't go into it and let you explore it yourself or read about it in the summary tag here on IMDb), but it is the action scenes and the drama that involves the family and obviously the tradition that surrounds it all.If you are like me, there is no question you will like this (maybe even rate it higher than me), but this is not art-house (even though some themes might qualify as such by themselves), this is an action movie. So if that is what you are looking for you could do a lot worse than this. Nice fighting, good choreography and a story that is easy to follow.

rayus-1 It's not really a requirement but it really does help to be familiar with the Yang Family Generals legend before watching the movie. Yes the story is fast paced and there's limited development for every single character, but granted I felt that this movie was made for a audience that already know's watsup with the Yangs. The 7th son killing the son of the Pan family in a tournament, the rivalry between the Yangs and Pans, the war between the Chinese Song empire and the Khitan Liao, battle at Golden Sand Beach, the prophecy of 7 sons going into battle, etc…..these all were introduced within 25 min of the movie. For people who are already familiar with the folklore, this is like how Marvel fans watch the numerous Spider-man adaptions….they may love it or hate it but always strong, close feelings to the source material. To people who never heard of the Yangs, it's probably too fast-paced to be appreciated or absorb fully to the narrative. The script isn't completely faithful to the origin story either as it switches from a patriotic campaign to recover lost land to a rescue mission of filial duty to save the Yang patriarch . Nonetheless, the spirit of the legend is still there. The key to enjoying the movie is not hoping that a single main character to stand out but to accept the 7 sons (and daddy Yang) as a integral entity and that they're fighting for each other and a common cause. It's really quite enjoyable as long as you're not expecting a grand treatment of a warrior family whose history suppose to span 3 generations. For a little over 2 hrs it's really not a bad job at all. Tung Wai's action was frenetic and brutal if not realistic enough to convey a certain mortal danger to all characters even the good guys. Adam Cheng impresses the most I thought. He was charismatic as Yang Ye, dignified yet humane. Ekin Cheng I thought was very effective as the stoic eldest son, who does brooding and commanding convincingly. Vic Chou was pretty damn cool as the almost silent 3rd son. The other sons were alright, they have their own moments but are overshadowed by Ekin and Vic. I thought the main villain Yelu Yuan by Shao Bing was underwhelming and generic. Xu Fan as Madam Yang was okay, she didn't really get to do much from the script except worry most of the time and weep at other times. There's some really good things like the Su Wu/Li Ling connection to Yang Ye, the breakout battle out of the siege, but some missed opportunities too (war breeds more misery angle could've been explored more of a theme, Pan Mei's enmity is more of a sideshow rather than the direct cause of the Yangs' tragedy) as the movie kinda does too much or not enough in a limited run time.I would say it's really worth a watch.

mc12000 This is a feature film version of the Yang army story which is one of the legendary stories passed down from generation to generation amongst the Chinese population. The fact is, the film will not raise any kind of excitement or appreciation for anyone else other than Chinese people. For example, many reviewers do not even know that there are multiple versions of this story portrayed in multiple TV series. "So what?", they ask... well because you have something to compare to and once again, I stress that its all down to appreciation of the history of the story which most critics will have lacked.It is true that there are similarities to 300 and Troy but this is executed with style. In fact, I would use the word "Style" to describe this remake. It has a stylish look and feel to it which saved what could have been disaster. The cast features a few big names who struggle to exert their screen presence due to the vast number of prominent characters. To my surprise none of the actors and actresses impressed me with their performances, which I found merely adequate. Instead, I was more impressed by the sets and choreography as well as the movie score. The cast features two big names, Ekin Cheng and Raymond Lam, who I had expected to shine. Instead they are allowed to fall back on their wooden acting (both are guilty of this acting style) which left the rest to veteran HK actor, Adam Cheng. Unfortunately Adam Cheng tends to excel in roles that are less serious, and I felt that someone with more physical presence was needed for the role of the General.But still, I gave this film 10/10 purely in an effort to balance up the poor ratings given by the clueless. I was half expecting someone to confuse this film with "Saving Private Ryan". I never thought anyone would own up to it....